“A gentleman’s choice of timepiece says as much about him as his Saville Row Suit”.

A watch tells time, this is something we all know. The legacy of watchmaking with the greats in the industry goes back centuries have established that timepieces are designed for a much greater purpose. For the quintessential man the right watch is first an extension of his personality and in most cases possibly the only accessory he may wear at all times. So the responsibility of the design is very great indeed.

When you are like me who loves a myriad of expressions in fashion sensibility, it is fair to assume I have a few watches that fits into my many experiments. The journey of this particular piece is however different.

Having been interested in jewelry, detailing and the advent of the Baroque in design, this present to myself of a watch that celebrates timelessness and decadence was a project both close to me the ethos of Absynthe Design. As a visionary behind the brand, Abhishek Basak has always travelled far and wide and painstakingly restored vintage timepieces and very often complied components from old machinery into works of art as jeweled accessories, watches, pens, clocks and even light fixtures. The legacy of his work has many expressions but for the story here I am focusing on this very special wristwatch which was to showcase the craft he is well known for into a milestone design.

It all began with us working and understanding the deconstruction of the Absynthe psyche. Showcasing the internal layer and the organics of watches, the mechanism , springs, nuts&bolts, hinges and creating a visible skeleton of the beautiful sub parts is often what has inspired many of the designs. Applying this philosophy was the idea of the glass case with the silver encased ring which holds together the overall apparatus. The functional watch is actually a vintage Tissot mini dial which sits in between this matrix of parts. The original Tissot knob is also seen with the signature T on the side. The metal brass and silver parts which are in beautiful filigree designs is offset with one trademark Absynthe metal red roses which rises from a pool of the machines as a single focus next to the dial.

The surprise awaits as one realizes that the watch is actually a revolving bracelet. In pulling forth the dial and flipping it over it becomes a bracelet with the signature botanical dragonfly flying between the dials and wheels. Keeping the element together is the overall glass case becomes a window looking at these wondrous elements. Showcased below are the final details of the closeup of the design dials. Images above show how the progress worked when the dragon flies were being studied in the setting.

The image above is the front watch face of the final design.

This is the bracelet version of the watch side when I am wanting to sport the Dragonfly details….

The journey for both me and brand was a special one. Merging craft, style, fashion, history and details in finally creating something that shall always be timeless!!

3 Comments

Yogeshh Dattu Khode

Tanveer Singh

admin

August 16, 2017 at 7:55 am

there is not a standard cost approach, the designer did this as an experiment with me and each piece is bespoke
so best is to reach out to him and as it is he would do something different based on budgets and not copy this design
as its patent done for me

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ABOUT ME

A celebration of Journeys across realms of Design, Fashion, Travel , Food and much more. As the eagle travels high across landscapes in time, this blog attempts to put a record of the many flights and celebrating that special culmination of experiences.